Reflective Encounters

“What does hair say to others about identity? There’s a central question of ‘passing’ in Arlo O’Callaghan’s documentary Owen that is questioned but ultimately given in to. People shouldn’t have to change their appearance to be gendered correctly, but the film’s subject, Owen, acknowledges that it will help him to ‘pass’ as male if he has his hair cut.

It’s a process of transition that many people face, and one that Owen is understandably anxious about. His hair, like the baggy clothes he wears, has become a veil for him to hide from a world that he fears won’t accept him. He doesn’t like to see himself as trans as a result or to feel a part of a broader community of trans people. Like many others, he just wants to be a guy.

Owen is a remarkably honest and candid subject - he talks of his past, his relationships with his family, and his gender identity with eloquence and confidence. The film builds to his hair cut and the revelation of seeing himself in the mirror. It’s a striking reflection on the transformative impact our hair has on our appearance, and the impression it gives of ourselves to others.”

— Lillian Crawford